Transformation-Invariant Laplacian Metadevices Robust to Environmental Variation.

As one of the typical applications of metamaterials, the invisibility cloak has raised vast research interests. After many years' research efforts, the invisibility cloak has extended its applicability from optics and acoustics to electrostatics and thermal diffusion. One scientific challenge that has significantly restricted the practical application of the invisibility cloak is the strong background dependence, that is, all passive cloaking devices realized thus far are unable to resist variation in the background refractive index.

Bioelectrical-Impedance-Analysis in the Perioperative Nutritional Assessment and Prediction of Complications in Head-and-Neck Malignancies.

Objective: Identification of patients with head-and-neck malignancies who are especially vulnerable to malnutrition is critical for optimizing outcomes. The objectives are; to correlate Bioelectrical-impendence-analysis (BIA) parameters with Subjective-Global-Assessment (SGA) scores, and determine the association of BIA parameters with common perioperative complications in patients undergoing head-and-neck surgery.

Study Design: Patients underwent formal SGA scoring and BIA preoperatively in a multidisciplinary allied health clinic.

A perspective on field-effect in energy and environmental catalysis.

The development of catalytic technologies for sustainable energy conversion is a critical step toward addressing fossil fuel depletion and associated environmental challenges. High-efficiency catalysts are fundamental to advancing these technologies. Recently, field-effect facilitated catalytic processes have emerged as a promising approach in energy and environmental applications, including water splitting, CO reduction, nitrogen reduction, organic electrosynthesis, and biomass recycling.

Corrigendum to "Identifying treatment non-responders based on pre-treatment gait characteristics - A machine learning approach." [Volume , Issue 11, November 2023, e21242].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.

Optical coherence tomography angiography enables visualization of microvascular patterns in chronic venous insufficiency.

Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a global health concern with significant public health and individual impact. Currently available diagnostic methods cannot visualize microvenous pathologies that have shown to result in severe forms of CVI and also affect the skin. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) may close the CVI diagnostic gap by providing a fast, label-free, and non-invasive solution to visualize cutaneous microvasculature.

Assessment of social isolation and changes in Parkinson's disease symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study.

Background: COVID-19-related social restrictions provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact of social isolation on Parkinson's disease.

Objective: This study aimed to explore changes in social isolation and their associations with PD symptoms using the Lubben Social Network Scale-Revised (LSNS-R).

Methods: Data from 80 participants of the Early Parkinson's Disease Longitudinal Singapore cohort were collected from April 2019 to April 2023, covering the periods before and after the imposition of COVID-19 restrictions.

Use of Complementary and Integrative Medicine Among Low-Income Persons With Mental Health Disorders.

Objective: To evaluate the use of complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) among a low-income population with mental health diagnoses and to assess differences in social determinants of health (SDOH) on the basis of CIM use.

Patients And Methods: We surveyed patients with mental health diagnoses and/or substance use disorders during outpatient evaluations between August 11, 2020, and November 18, 2021, at a community behavioral health center in Rochester, MN. We measured knowledge of current CIM, interest in future use of CIM, and SDOH.

The stability improvements of dye-sensitized solar cell with natural template for photoanode using lignin extracted from rice husk.

In response to escalating global concerns over environmental pollution, the development of green dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) has emerged as a promising technology for solar energy conversion. This study harnesses the potential of rice husk, an abundant agricultural waste in Indonesia, by extracting lignin through a simple recycling method. Lignin acts as a natural, non-toxic dopant and template for TiO₂ composites, enhancing the stability of the photoanode in DSSCs.

A Novel Integrated Geriatric Services Hub for Frailty Identification and Comprehensive Management of Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Singapore: Impact on Health Service Utilization.

Background: Healthcare systems need to address the high healthcare use of frail older adults. The Geriatric Services Hub (GSH) is a novel program in Singapore that delivers frailty screening, comprehensive geriatric assessment and coordinated care for community-dwelling older persons with bio-psycho-social needs. We aimed to evaluate the effects of the GSH on healthcare use.

Clinical practice in an age of medical misinformation and conspiracy theories.

Medical misinformation (false health or medical-related information) has seen a rapid increase in volume recently, with the global surge in social media usage and further exacerbation by the COVID-19 pandemic. This may put more lives at stake, as misinformation is an often-cited reason that people make dangerous health choices, engage in harmful practices and reject beneficial health treatments. In this article, we explore the drivers and consequences, as well as suggest several strategies at the personal, educational and systemic level, for physicians to guide and communicate with patients who subscribe to medical misinformation.

Role of 5-aminosalicylic acid in ulcerative colitis management in 8 Asian territories: a physician survey.

Clinical guidelines typically endorse conventional therapies such as 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) as the mainstay of ulcerative colitis management. However, the degree of adoption and application of guideline recommendations by physicians within Asia remains unclear. This study aims to understand the prescribing patterns of 5-ASA and implementation of current guideline recommendations across Asian clinical practice.

Immunotherapeutic targeting of aging-associated isoDGR motif in chronic lung inflammation.

Accumulation of damaged biomolecules in body tissues is the primary cause of aging and age-related chronic diseases. Since this damage often occurs spontaneously, it has traditionally been regarded as untreatable, with typical therapeutic strategies targeting genes or enzymes being ineffective in this domain. In this report, we demonstrate that an antibody targeting the isoDGR damage motif in lung tissue can guide immune clearance of harmful damaged proteins in vivo, effectively reducing age-linked lung inflammation.

Efficiency and safety of automated label cleaning on multimodal retinal images.

Label noise is a common and important issue that would affect the model's performance in artificial intelligence. This study assessed the effectiveness and potential risks of automated label cleaning using an open-source framework, Cleanlab, in multi-category datasets of fundus photography and optical coherence tomography, with intentionally introduced label noise ranging from 0 to 70%. After six cycles of automatic cleaning, significant improvements are achieved in label accuracies (3.

The Current Progress in the Quest for Vaccines Against the Semliki Forest Virus Complex.

The Semliki Forest virus (SFV) complex comprises of arboviruses that are transmitted by arthropod vectors and cause acute febrile illness in humans. In the last seven decades, re-emergence of these viruses has resulted in numerous outbreaks globally, affecting regions including Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. These viruses are transmitted to humans by the bite of infected mosquitoes.

Physiological change in ganglion cell inner plexiform layer and nerve fibre layer thickness over six years.

Background: To evaluate the 6-year physiological rates-of-change in ganglion cell inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) and retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness measured with optical coherence tomography.

Methods: We included 2202 out of 2661 subjects from the population-based Singapore Chinese Eye Study who returned for follow-up 6 years after baseline examination (follow-up rate 87.7%).

Seroprevalence and risk factors for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus exposure among febrile patients in northern Tanzania.

Background: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a tick-borne zoonotic disease that may be severe and is present in many African countries. We aimed to understand the seroprevalence and risk for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in Tanzania by testing archived serum samples from patients enrolled in a prospective cohort study.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled febrile inpatients and outpatients from 2012 through 2014 at two referral hospitals in northern Tanzania.

The GLOB-cAGE Consortium: A Global Cardiovascular Collaborative Network of Older Adults with Cardiovascular Disease.

Background: GLOB-cAGE is a newly established unprecedented consortium that brings together cohorts of older persons with cardiovascular disease worldwide. GLOB-cAGE aims to harmonize non-identifiable data from longitudinal cohorts examining cardiovascular health and cardiovascular disease diagnosis and management in older individuals to perform meta-regression analyses using combined repositories of standardized subject-level data points.

Methods And Design: Studies registered into GLOB-cAGE are population-based longitudinal cohort studies or clinical trials, either ongoing or completed, that involve assessing cardiovascular health as a central objective.

Exploring spatio-temporal heterogeneity of rural settlement patterns on carbon emission across more than 2800 Chinese counties using multiple supervised machine learning models.

China, the world's largest carbon emitter, plays a pivotal role in achieving carbon neutrality. This study systematically analyzes the impact of landscape indices on carbon emissions from rural settlements across more than 2800 counties using eight supervised machine learning models. To assess variable influences under diverse conditions, we also employed the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and Accumulated Local Effects (ALE) methods.